In tough turf Churu, BJP ropes in PM Modi to up the ante

Jaipur: Churu may be a tough nut to crack for BJP in Rajasthan this time. So the election committee of the saffron party brought in no less than Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sound the poll bugle in the entire Shekhawati region - firstly to assuage the miffed Jats and secondly to blunt the challenge posed by an aggrieved Rahul Kaswan, who is playing the sympathy card.

Prime Minister Modi, on his part, waxed eloquent not only about the bravery and bloodshed by soldiers from the region but also highlighted the parallels in the backgrounds of BJP’s candidate, paralympian and sportsman Devendra Jhajhariya, and himself.

To a packed and cheering crowd, Modi said "a Narendra in Delhi and Devendra in Churu would bring about changes in the region".

Talking about his relationship with Devendra, Modi said that he had decided upon Devendra when he met his mother - a poor and illiterate woman who had nurtured a dream of her son bringing laurels to the country. Devendra had fulfilled her dreams in the sports field, and now he aims to do so in politics. Modi reminded the audience that the country and the party could never forget the achievements and glory brought to the nation by its sportsmen and women, and that one way of acknowledging it was by giving them tickets to contest.

However, all may not be well for BJP in this Jat-dominated belt.

With a 14 per cent Jat population in the state, Jats dominate the districts of Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Churu, along with sizeable populations in adjoining districts of Nagaur, Bikaner, Barmer, Tonk and Ajmer.

The farmers, who are mainly Jats, have been fighting for a law on Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their crops and have sided with the farmers’ agitation. The Agniveer scheme, which allows youths aged between 17 and 21 to enrol as Agniveers for a period of four years in the Army after which only 25 per cent would be reabsorbed and the rest would have to fend for themselves, has also not been received well in the region.

Moreover, the BJP’s mishandling of India’s top women wrestlers’ sexual harassment complaint against Wrestling Federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has not gone down well with the community. Former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik’s outburst about Pulwama attack, who is also a Jat, and the treatment meted out to him, has also enraged the community.

Congress candidate and incumbent MP Rahul Kaswan turned to the party after he was denied a ticket by the BJP. Kaswan is a Jat and a two-time MP from BJP in 2014 and 2019. His father Ram Singh Kaswan had won the Churu seat in 2009, 2004 and 1999. Although Churu has been a BJP stronghold for long, with Kaswan crossing over to Congress, it may prove to be a tough battle for the saffron party this time.

After he was denied a ticket, Kaswan in an emotional post on X had said that nobody in the party could pinpoint his fault despite being a diligent worker for the party all these years. Kaswan has been accused of sabotaging the election of BJP strongman Rajendra Rathore, who lost from Taranagar in the Assembly election in December.

Seven-time MLA Rathore, who found the defeat hard to digest, has been calling Kaswan names like Jaichand and Vibhishanas, known betrayers in India's history. With Rathore helming the election management of Jhajhariya, Churu has become a prestige battle for the BJP.

“Bringing PM Modi was part of strategy to lure voters in the Shekhawati belt and Modi did ask for votes from Sikar and Jhunujhunu too. Modi’s presence and Modi’s emphasis on his guarantees are clear messages to the Opposition that those who colluded to defeat BJP in the Assembly polls would not be forgotten and pardoned easily,” Narayan Bareth, senior political analyst told DH.

Moreover, Churu Lok Sabha seat comprises Nohar, Bhadra, Sadulpur, Taranagar, Sadarshahr, Churu, Ratangarh and Sujangarh Assembly seats. Nohar, Taranagar, Sadarshar, Ratangarh, Sujangarh are with Congress, Bhadra and Churu seats are with BJP while Sadulpur is with BSP.

Son of Daulat Ram Saran, former MP, and minister and farmer leader, Ashok Saran told DH that Churu doesn’t have the RSS backing. “Most of its leaders are from Janata Dal. So BJP has a handicap in that way. Moreover, Rahul Kaswan has been able to communicate the injustice meted out to him by the BJP. At the moment he seems on sure footing but how much of his sob story gets converted into votes is not very clear. Further, Modi’s rally and his emphasis on brave soldiers and the figures he rolled out, that 4.5 crore people getting free ration and 50 lakh tap water connections for households in Churu through Jal Jeevan Mission, may turn the tables.”

With about 12.24 per cent Muslim population in the Churu district, Modi in his address spoke about the triple talaq and how his government's and the apex court's role in making it unconstitutional, helping not only women and girls but entire families.